The present invention relates to polyarylene ethe-rpolyalkenamer block copolymers and a method for making such materials. A carbonyl capped polyphenylene ether is reacted with a cycloalkene, for example, cyclooctene, using an organometallic catalyst, such as tungsten (VI) chloride/ethylaluminum dichloride to effect copolymer formation.
Prior to the present invention, graft copolymers of polyphenylene ether and polyalkenamer elastomers could be made by extruding a commercially available polyarylene ether, such as GE's PPO.RTM. resin, having Mannich end groups, with a preformed polyoctenamer (Vestenamer.RTM.) of the Huls Company, Marl, West Germany. Grafting of the unsaturated polyoctenamer polymer to the polyarylene ether is believed to occur through the Mannich end groups.
Alternative procedures for making polyarylene ether-polyalkenamer copolymers are constantly being sought by the plastics industry. Ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of various cyclic monomers, such as norbornene and cyclooctene, has been used to prepare various unsaturated polymers, such as polynorbornene(Norsorex.RTM., CDF Chimie) and polyoctenamer.
In copending application Ser. No. 07/553,036, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,972, polyphenylene ether-polyalkenamer graft copolymers were made using a cycloalkene-capped polyarylene ether having a manganese (II) chloride catalyst, free of amine. Preferably, the polyarylene ether was capped with a cycloalkene, such as a norbornene, which was joined to the polyarylene ether by an ester linkage. A metal-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of a suitable cycloalkene, such as norbornene, or cyclooctene, can be effected in the presence of the cycloalkene capped polyarylene ether by using an effective amount of a metallic catalyst, for example a transition metal catalyst, such as a ruthenium halide or osmium halide. The resulting polyphenylene ether-polyalkenamer copolymer is derived from the random incorporation of the cycloalkene of the cycloalkene-capped polyarylene ether into the polyalkenamer prepared by ring-opening metathesis polymerization.
Although useful polyphenylene ether-polyalkenamer graft copolymers involving random incorporation of polyphenylene ether into polyalkenamer, can be made utilizing the aforementioned procedure of employing a cycloalkene capped polyarylene ether, additional procedures for making polyphenylene ether-polyalkenamer copolymers are constantly being sought.